For every sport at Staples, there is a designated ceremony for athletes of each team to sign Letters of Intent to commit to Division I colleges and universities. But, this year’s Girls’ Lacrosse team refused. The five seniors who are pursuing lacrosse in college insisted on celebrating together, despite the fact that they do not all have Letters of Intent to sign. Two of the members will be going to Division III schools and therefore are restricted to verbal commitment and have not yet received acceptance letters.
On Friday Dec. 12 at 2:30 pm, in place of a signing ceremony, Staples Girls’ Lacrosse held a press conference to celebrate the many athletes who will be playing in college: Jenna McNicholas at Middlebury, Paige Murray at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Sam Kratky at Lehigh University, Nicki Najarian at Denison University, and Amelia Heisler at Lafayette College. They all played together throughout high school and even middle school for some.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time so its really exciting that I get to share it with some of my best friends, coaches, and parents,” Kratky said.
Heisler agreed, contending the recruiting process has been tolling since freshman year and this marks the “final clutch.”
At the ceremony, each athlete gave a personal speech about their experience with Staples lacrosse and why they chose the college or university they are committing to. Many “thank yous” went out to teammates, coaches, and parents for love and support. Coach Najarian, father of Nicki Naharian, also made a personal comment about each athlete and the assets each brought to the team.
“They have absolutely earned it,” Program Coach Pete Najarian said. He explained that he believes the high school athletic experience can be even more rewarding than in college.
“I hope that they have learned how to work as a team, motivate themselves and one another, be part of community, and how to dig deep when it’s needed,” Coach Najarian reflected.
“My hope is that they have learned lessons from the Staples Athletic Program to help them succeed in life from here and build upon that as they go to the next level,” Athletic Director Marty Lisevick agreed.
